I love the flavors of gingerbread and molasses so much.
So I made pancakes that taste like gingerbread cookies.
I recently posted recipes for Soft Molasses Coconut Oil Crinkle Cookies and Soft and Chewy Gingerbread Molasses Chocolate Chip Bars and wanted to branch out.
The cookies are likely my new go-to-and-forever recipe for soft molasses cookies, and the bars are one of the best things I’ve made in 2013. Like eating a piece of gingerbread-molasses fudge. Seriously decadent, spicy, bold, chocolaty, and rich. Couldn’t top either recipe.
But pancakes were unchartered territory and fair game.
They’re light, soft, fluffy and they’re pleasantly bold. The batter is standard pancake batter. A bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet. Pour the wet over dry, stir, and griddle up your pancakes.
Buttermilk helps keep the pancakes tender and light, and the results just aren’t the same with regular milk. You can make buttermilk by souring your own milk. Add about 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup milk, wait for 10 minutes for it to curdle, then use as indicated.
If you don’t routinely keep buttermilk on hand, I highly recommend this Powdered Buttermilk. If you don’t use buttermilk much, but sometimes see a recipe that needs a half cup, but because you think you won’t use the rest of the jug before it goes bad, you opt of trying the recipe, then this powder is your new best friend. Shelf stable, keeps for ages.
Since I was making gingerbread pancakes, not plain pancakes, I wanted them to taste like gingerbread. The only way to make 1 cup of white flour and buttermilk taste like gingerbread cookies is through plentiful use of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and molasses.
There’s 5 1/2 teaspoons of spices for 8 average-sized pancakes, along with 3 tablespoons of molasses. Well-spiced without being overdone, but if you’re more sensitive to spices, tone them down to your liking, possibly even halving them; and dial the molasses back to taste, also.
I don’t have a griddle and make my pancakes in a non-stick skillet that holds four at a time, and I’m a horrible pancake flipper at that. I do the best I can to not mutilate them while flipping, and I get anxiety as the 3-minute mark is approaching and all of a sudden I have to flip four before they all char. Gah.
Most people fry their pancakes in lots of melted butter. I love butter as much as the next person, but in this season of excess and abundance, I try to cut corners where I can, and only used cooking spray. I didn’t miss the fat, calories, or any buttery taste, but use the real thing if you prefer.
Pancakes aren’t really pancakes unless they’re flooded with syrup. What you see here is only a fraction of what I use in reality, and it’s always the season of excess and abundance when it comes to syrup.
Plain maple syrup is, well, plain. I doctored up this syrup with molasses and ground ginger. I could literally drink molasses and could probably do a 1:1 ratio of molasses and syrup. I didn’t, but wanted to. Use what tastes good to you.
A tip to keep pancakes warm for up to 1 hour, is to transfer cooked pancakes to a baking sheet, and place in a preheated 200F oven to keep them warm.
The pancakes are the perfect warm, comforting start to any chilly winter morning, and they’d be a great brunch or breakfast-in-bed treat, or a fabulous Christmas morning breakfast.
I ate the leftover pancakes for brinner (breakfast-for-dinner) and it felt like I was eating gingerbread cookies for dinner. And I loved it.
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Soft and Fluffy Gingerbread Pancakes with Ginger Molasses Maple Syrup
Ingredients
Pancakes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed (light brown may be substituted)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons light, medium, or dark molasses (not blackstrap; it’s too pungent)
- 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ginger Molasses Maple Syrup
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons light, medium, or dark molasses, or to taste
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground ginger, or to taste
Instructions
- Pancakes – In a large mixing bowl, add first 11 ingredients, through optional salt, and whisk to combine; set aside.
- In a large glass measuring cup or medium bowl, add remaining 5 ingredients, through vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. Batter will be fairly thick and some lumps will be present; don’t try to stir them smooth.
- Pre-heat a skillet over medium heat and spray with cooking spray (or use melted butter if you prefer).
- Using a 1/4-cup measure sprayed with cooking spray for easy release, scoop batter onto warm skillet. Cook for about 2 1/2 to 3 minutes. Take a peek at the underside with a spatula, and when golden, flip over.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until done. Repeat process with the remaining batter, adding more cooking spray to the skillet as needed, and wiping any black residue with a paper towel as needed. Serve immediately. Tip – To keep pancakes warm for up to 1 hour, transfer cooked pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200F oven to keep warm.
- Ginger Molasses Maple Syrup – Combine all syrup ingredients in a small bowl or serving pitcher and whisk until smooth. Warm syrup mixture in microwave for about 30 seconds if desired. Pour over pancakes. Extra syrup will keep airtight in the refrigerator for many months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Have you had anything gingerbread or with molasses yet this season?